Led Zeppelin

Stern Pinball, 2020 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Led Zeppelin in the Pinball Genie app →

Steve Ritchie's final Stern design (rules/code by Tim Sexton). Editions: Pro, Premium, LE (500 units). Premium and LE share one playfield; edition-only features are marked premium-le, everything else all.

Core loop — Songs & Records. Each ball you pick one of 10 song modes, which runs the whole ball and lights shots dynamically by section (intro/verse/chorus/solo). Making lit shots earns Record Sales; every 100K = 1 Gold Record. 5 gold records completes a song, 10 = Platinum. Completing/changing a song lights Change Song at the right orbit and awards 2 Band Boosts.

Skill shot. After song select, time the plunge to the moving L-E-D target (it sweeps left↔right). Award: 500K + 5 sec ball save.

Icarus X — playfield multiplier. Combos (lit shots in quick succession) are cashed by hitting any of the four target banks (LED, ZEP, ROCK, Ball-Save), adding +0.1× per combo shot to that bank. Icarus X = the product of all four bank multipliers, so you build them evenly (always feed the lowest). Once all four banks are raised, the center Icarus standup lights the timed playfield multiplier (~15 sec, +5 sec per side-flipper shot); shooting Icarus during the window recalculates it live.

Band Boosts (action button). Start with 1, earn more by completing/changing songs (max 5). Single boost = 5× combo value into the lowest bank; Super Band Boost (3+ saved) = 10× into the two lowest banks. In multiball they spot an Icarus hit / instantly add a ball.

Zeppelin Awards (upper/side-flipper shots). Each side shot starts the next super feature — Super Spinner → Super Pops → Super Slings → Super Ramps — and adds +5 sec to the Icarus X timer. 8 Zeppelin Awards lights an Extra Ball at the left eject.

Multiballs.

• Zeppelin MB (all): left ramp 3× to lock, next left ramp starts a 4-ball; relight later locks by spelling R-O-C-K. Jackpots → doubles → super at left eject + side shot (side = 2× eject). Add-a-ball via Icarus 3×.
• Tour MBs (all, four of them): right ramp qualifies (increasing), pick a tour at the left eject, complete 4 objectives, start at the left eject. US 1975 / US 1977 / Earl's Court / UK 1971.
• Electric Magic MB (premium-le only): complete LED then ZEP to raise the magic-wand spinner, charge it and lock. Leads to the Electric Magic Frenzy, the biggest single-mode farm on Prem/LE (right orbit doubles jackpots).

Wizard ladder. Mothership (5 songs → right orbit) → World Tour (all 4 Tour MBs → left eject, 6-ball, City Jackpots) → Top of the Charts (all 10 songs → right orbit, platinum chase) → Celebration Day final wizard (all 10 songs platinum → right orbit; ends with a Diamond Record that adds +1× to end-of-ball bonus).

Bonus. Bonus X built via the ROLL inlanes (lane change, max 50×). 5 extra balls on default, all collected at the left eject.

Goals in Led Zeppelin

Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.

• Moving L-E-D Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Time the plunge so the ball strikes the lit L-E-D letter as it sweeps across the bank for 500K plus a 5-second ball save.

  Reward: 500K + 5 sec ball save

• Icarus X into a Guitar-Solo Center-Ramp Loop combo · Hard

  The signature money move: build a big Icarus X, activate it right before a Whole Lotta Love or Rock and Roll guitar solo, then loop the always-lit center ramp for the whole window.

  Reward: Full mode points × the Icarus X product on every loop for 15s+

• Left-Heavy Combo Loop into the Lowest Bank combo · Medium

  The repeatable used to BUILD Icarus X: chain left-side shots, then cash the combo into whichever target bank is currently lowest, always feeding the weakest to keep the four multipliers even.

  Reward: +0.1× per combo shot to the weakest bank (raises the Icarus X product)

• Band Boost Auto-Cash combo · Easy

  Spend a Band Boost to instantly cash a running combo for 5× its value into the lowest bank — the fastest way to auto-balance Icarus X when the ball can't reach a bank in time.

  Reward: 5× combo value into the lowest bank (Super Band Boost = 10× into the two lowest)

• Zeppelin Super Jackpot × Bank Clears combo · Hard

  Enter Zeppelin Multiball with high bank multipliers, collect the lit jackpots to light the super at the left eject, then boost that super by clearing target banks while it is lit.

  Reward: Super jackpot (sum of all jackpots/doubles) × up to 4× from bank clears; hundreds of millions under Icarus X

• Zeppelin Multiball multiball · Medium

  Lock three balls at the left ramp and start a 4-ball multiball; work the jackpots up to the super at the left eject and side shot.

  Reward: 4-ball multiball; super jackpot = sum of all jackpots/doubles, ×up to 4× via bank clears

• Tour Multiball multiball · Medium

  Qualify a Tour at the right ramp, choose it at the left eject, complete its four objectives, then start the multiball at the left eject.

  Reward: 2–5 ball multiball scaling with tours played; progress toward World Tour Multiball

• Electric Magic Multiball multiball · Hard

  Complete the LED then ZEP banks to raise the pop-up magic-wand spinner, charge it and lock, then run the Electric Magic Frenzy — the biggest single-mode farm on Prem/LE.

  Reward: Multiball + Frenzy switch-farm reported at 200–500M; right orbit doubles jackpots

• Mothership Multiball multiball · Hard

  Complete five songs to qualify the Mothership mini-wizard multiball, start it at the right orbit, and multiply the supers by scoring jackpots at song-award shots.

  Reward: Jackpots + supers at song-award shots, multiplied up to 3×

• Song Mode: Whole Lotta Love mode · Easy

  A forgiving song for building records — the drum-solo section keeps the side shot always lit plus two roving shots, and the guitar solo lights the center ramp.

  Reward: Gold records toward song completion (5 = complete, 10 = Platinum)

• Song Mode: Good Times, Bad Times mode · Medium

  Alternates easy then hard shots across four sections while banking gold records toward song completion.

  Reward: Gold records toward song completion (5 = complete, 10 = Platinum)

• Zeppelin Awards (Super Features) mode · Medium

  Each upper-flipper side shot starts the next sequential super feature — Super Spinner, Super Pops, Super Slings, Super Ramps — and adds Icarus X timer seconds; collecting eight lights an Extra Ball.

  Reward: Sequential super features; +5 sec Icarus X per shot; 8 awards = Extra Ball

• Icarus X Playfield Multiplier multiplier · Hard

  Build all four bank multipliers evenly through combos, then activate the timed playfield multiplier at the Icarus standup — Icarus X is the product of the four banks.

  Reward: Timed playfield X = LED × ZEP × ROCK × Ball-Save; multiplies all scoring

• Bonus X via the ROLL Inlanes multiplier · Easy

  Change lanes with the flippers to light both ROLL inlanes and build the end-of-ball Bonus X, up to 50×.

  Reward: Bonus X up to 50× on the end-of-ball bonus

• World Tour Multiball (Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Play all four Tour Multiballs to qualify the 6-ball World Tour Multiball at the left eject, then collect City Jackpots around the playfield.

  Reward: 6-ball; City Jackpots = (cities collected × Tour Jackpot); 10 cities lights supers

• Celebration Day (Final Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Platinum all 10 songs — via normal play or Top of the Charts — to reach the Celebration Day final wizard at the right orbit, ending with a Diamond Record that boosts future bonuses.

  Reward: 6-ball wizard; Diamond Record adds +1× to end-of-ball bonus going forward

• Opening Sequence: Left Eject First strategy · Easy

  The consensus opener: make the left eject your first shot to start a Tour, then keep the ball on safe left-side loops — backhand the left ramp and loop the center ramp.

  Reward: Tour engine turning early; ball control on the left-heavy layout

• Build Even Banks, Cash Into a Super strategy · Hard

  Build the four bank multipliers evenly during single-ball play, then time the Icarus X window to a Zeppelin (or Electric Magic) super jackpot for the biggest hits.

  Reward: A single super under a big Icarus X can be 100M+

• Never Start a Multiball Without a Tour strategy · Medium

  Universal advice: get a Tour started before any multiball so you can use the multiball to complete tour objectives and set up the next one.

  Reward: Multiball time doubles as tour progress; sets up World Tour

• Push One Song to Platinum mode · Hard

  Stay on one song instead of rotating: complete it at five gold records, keep the same song running and grind its lit shots to ten records for platinum.

  Reward: Platinum record on that song; one of the ten needed for the final wizard

• Top of the Charts (Last-Chance Platinum) mode · Hard

  Complete all ten songs to qualify the catch-up mode at the right orbit, where remaining songs can be pushed to platinum in one run.

  Reward: Platinum credit on unfinished songs; the backup path into the final wizard